Building continuity in an unpredictable global landscape

In today’s fast-changing world, continuity is key to staying resilient as new risks emerge and global landscapes evolve. From supply chain disruptions to environmental challenges, organisations must think ahead to overcome uncertainty and build a stronger foundation for the future.

This article explores strategies and expert insights that can help your organisation adapt, mitigate risks, and strengthen business continuity.

Modern manufacturing increasingly relies on complex products and extended supply chains, often involving multiple levels of suppliers. Lean production methods, such as just-in-time inventory, can reduce costs in stable conditions but may leave businesses exposed if there is a significant disruption to their production processes, supply chains, availability of components or raw materials.

When unexpected interruptions occur, limited inventory levels may prevent companies and their suppliers from fulfilling orders promptly, potentially causing substantial financial losses.

External dependencies can trigger chain reactions, where issues with one supplier reverberate throughout the market. This is particularly problematic when only a few suppliers provide critical components. Any shortage of essential materials or services can have far-reaching consequences for production and customer commitments.

Risk landscapes

Preparedness is crucial in managing unforeseen events such as floods, fires, or pandemics. Business Continuity Planning (BCP) addresses these risks by ensuring companies have robust plans for emergency response, crisis management, and business recovery. A thorough understanding of risk exposure is vital, and regular business impact analyses help identify vulnerabilities, including reliance on critical suppliers and the availability of alternative sources.

Geopolitical instability and regional tensions
For example, especially in regions like the South China Sea, Eastern Europe, and the Red Sea—is now a top-tier risk. These tensions can trigger sudden border closures, export bans, or sanctions, severely disrupting supply chains and causing ripple effects across industries. Furthermore, trade wars and inflationary pressures compound the risk, making resource acquisition and pricing highly volatile.
Cyber-physical threats, criminal use of AI tools
Cyberattacks are evolving beyond digital breaches. In 2025, adversaries are targeting physical infrastructure—such as undersea cables, satellites, and data centres—with AI-enhanced tools. Additionally, deepfake scams, voice impersonation, and AI-generated phishing are now common, making detection and response more complex.
Climate change litigation and adaptation failures
Beyond extreme weather, climate change is driving a surge in litigation. Over 1,500* cases have been filed globally since the Paris Agreement, targeting companies for misleading advertising or insufficient emissions reductions. Businesses must now assess legacy infrastructure for new risks—like flooding or snow loads—and prepare for legal accountability.
Lithium-ion battery hazards and energy transition risks
The push toward electrification and renewable energy introduces new hazards. Lithium-ion batteries pose fire and explosion risks, especially in cargo and property contexts. Additionally, transformer shortages and grid instability (e.g., brownouts) are emerging concerns as energy systems modernise.
Mental health and workforce instability
Employee well-being is increasingly linked to operational resilience. Poor mental health, burnout, and cultural fatigue can lead to absenteeism, reduced productivity, and reputational damage. Companies are urged to integrate mental health into their risk frameworks and duty-of-care policies.
Digital asset liabilities and ESG-risks
As ESG becomes mainstream, companies face liability risks tied to environmental claims, data ethics, and product recalls. Missteps in ESG reporting or digital asset management can lead to reputational harm and legal exposure.

Other concerns include e.g. systemic risks—those that cascade across industries—are now central to risk planning. Hidden interdependencies are also a concern, highlighting the fragility of supply chains especially in cases where a single-source dependency exists.

^{*) Source: Columbia University Law School, on Sabin Center}

Building resilience

One important strategic action that companies can take today includes stress-testing their continuity plans. Many firms still lack impact analysis or crisis simulations. Companies are already aware of the importance of diversifying their supply chains and continue to focus on building multi-tier visibility to reduce dependency risks. Just as importantly, organisations need to understand their risks around mental health issues, integrating resilient solutions to support their workforce as part of their business continuity planning.

Importantly, companies are also investing in AI-powered cybersecurity, and just as importantly employee training to counter adaptive threats. They are also monitoring ESG and legal landscapes for emerging liability exposures.

It is important for businesses to assess their significance to suppliers and evaluate the capacity of alternatives to provide support during crises. If’s Risk Engineers play an invaluable role in supporting BCP efforts globally, helping organisations prevent losses and manage risks effectively.

According to Andreas Kräling, Head of Property Risk Management in Sweden, highlights that “By interviewing site staff with central responsibilities concerning outage and contingency preparedness, companies can gain further detail on the risks and related preventive measures.”

He continues, “There are several examples of operations having full control on how to recover production, recover lost property and machinery, move production to free capacity, and fulfil contractual obligations. But more than seldom there is still significant business interruption due to the full scope never being tested."

Common issues with BCP planning:

Alternative suppliers not vetted or validated any longer and only identified as a potential source.
Alternative production sites and production lines lack the accreditation or approval to put products they normally do not produce to markets they normally do not supply.
Certain approval processes are very time-consuming and include on site audits of the facility and test batches, which are not accounted for.
Supply chain routes for alternative suppliers may be interfered by conflicts, embargos and tolls.
Overestimating the market position when suppliers are down and the overall supply is less than the demand, creating a decline in supply flow.
ESG related legal exposure connected to not complying to regulatory demands when making large changes to the supply chain and product flow in a timely manner.
Brand and reputational damage connected to ESG non-compliance, quality issues, capacity constrictions, and opacity regarding governance.

Full-scale crisis training sessions and scenario-based sessions that are conducted in a holistic manner are the best way to capture the input and risk mitigation from all stakeholders, as well as pressure test the full scale and scope of your business continuity planning.

Want to know more?

If’s Risk Engineers are ready to support your organisation’s business continuity planning worldwide, helping you to prevent losses and manage risks with expertise and confidence.